At Last, I Descend Upon Thee

9/10/2013

As the prophets foretold, I have risen from my post-book coma and returned once again to the prestigious throne that is my desk chair.

If you're waiting on an email response or a response to you in the comments, I believe I have responded to pretty much everybody. Now, it's time to begin work on City of Light.

Elysia, not Paris.

Also, for those of you who care about such trifling mundane matters, I passed 25,000 sales last night as I slept. That's House of Blades and Crimson Vault combined, but it's still pretty staggering. You guys are just that awesome.

Now, about the blog: I'm planning on producing more regular blog updates instead of the irregular mishmash that you have tolerated until this point. From here on out, I plan on writing one blog post each Saturday. Of course, I will also post whenever anything significant happens--like when I release a new book, for instance--but in the absence of breaking news I'll probably produce one post each Saturday.

So tune in on Saturday for the first of these regular posts.

Free tip: you probably don't want to miss this Saturday. I'm going to include a spoiler-full deleted scene from The Crimson Vault. It's tentatively entitled, "What Happened to the Bears?"

The bears from Elysia, not Chicago.

In the meantime, between now and Saturday, I'd like to hear your questions. "What kind of questions?" you ask. Well, let me clarify:

What is the one question about the Traveler's Gate Trilogy that you would like me to answer?

Keep in mind, as you formulate your inquiry, that I would respond to such a question in the form of a short story.

Hit me.

61 Comments

Will Wight link

9/10/2013 03:28:51 am

Allow me to clarify:

I won't answer all of your questions. I simply want to know which short stories would be of most interest to you.

Also, I of course will not answer questions about the future, since those would necessarily contain City of Light spoilers. I'm not writing a story to show you whether or not Simon dies, for instance.

You might, however, wonder what's frozen on the sixteenth level of Helgard, or where Cormac came from, or how one becomes a Naraka Traveler, or how a particular Incarnation became an Incarnation.

Those sorts of questions can be answered. And it's possible that, in the future, they may be.

Pat

9/10/2013 10:29:40 am

What is life like for Indirial's daughter & why doesn't he want her to be a swordswoman?

9/14/2013 01:08:58 am

You know, I really would like to do this one. I probably will. Indirial's daughter is a really interesting character, and I was going to introduce her into Crimson Vault until I ran out of space. I'll either bring her into City of Light or write this story.

Jim

9/12/2013 01:58:10 am

Put 'em in a really long City of Light. That would be great

Rhys

9/10/2013 07:16:31 am

How did Valinhall come to be discovered. How did Valinhall find it and what happened next. Also why is Valinhall only a house and not a "proper" territory.

Mike

9/10/2013 08:21:28 am

Yeah that is one of my main questions. Also the so called creation because it is said to be manmade

9/14/2013 01:10:04 am

I'm going to have to answer all of these big Valinhall questions in the form of a long story, probably a novella. I still think the best way to do it is two novellas: one about Kai and one about Valin.

This would be thoroughly answered in Valin's story.

Ethan L.

9/10/2013 11:17:28 am

Also, how do you push a person to a territory without knowing it? In House of Blades, when Simon talks to the eldest, he says Valin was pushed to the house, as if he didn't go there on purpose.

Brian S

9/10/2013 12:06:18 pm

Where are the mising dragons, and how do I get one?

Is the history of Ogirth Cave significant outside of a training exercise?

Did Andra go to the cave?

The story of how Erastes ended up with a Damascan steel sword

Why was Valin's dragon locked in a trapped building in the desert instead of being locked in a foreign territory?

Is access to Elysia hereditary like Ragnarus? If so, are any of Alins reletives likey to gain access? Is Ragnarus also an artificial territory?

What is your worlds name?

Is it in the Cosmere? ;)

9/11/2013 04:25:29 pm

I thinks its Tartaurus steal you mean Brian. Not trying to be a dick I'm just a pedant.

Helgard

9/12/2013 03:45:51 pm

Did you mean Tartarus steel?

9/12/2013 04:28:57 pm

I probably meant Tartarus Steel. I definitely have no desire to steal Tartarus so I didn't mean that. :)

9/20/2013 06:20:44 pm

Yeah, damn I only just noticed that.

9/14/2013 01:13:25 am

1.) 12 easy payments of $19.95!

2.) Yes.

3.) Not yet.

4.) That's a good story, actually.

5.) Thoroughly answered in Kai's story, which I still think should probably end up as a novella. Written at some point after City of Light.

6.) Yes, it's hereditary. No comment on the other ones.

7.) The people of this world intentionally don't name it. It was decided thousands of years ago that naming it would make it seem like just another Territory, when they're convinced that it's the original world from which all other Territories and world's sprang. Therefore, it's not named, it's just "the world" to them.

The people of other Territories have names for it, though.

8.) No, but your reference pleases me.

G.R

9/10/2013 02:47:05 pm

How are the Nye and the rest of Valinhall's guardians created? what were their origins like?

Will WIght link

9/14/2013 01:14:28 am

That might be another good story, actually, since it wouldn't be answered in a Valin novella. He doesn't know where the Nye came from, since they were in Valinhall before he arrived (or named it).

I'll have to think about doing this.

9/16/2013 07:33:51 am

Great! I have a feeling that some guardians were incarnations who went back to their territory like (i suspect) Rhalia, and if I remember correctly, Chaka and Denner talked about the guardians in valinhall being replaced with creatures who were under trial or something if they ever die during the tests

9/16/2013 07:44:31 am

I was wrong, nothing on the guardians replaced with creatures in trials, although it would be an interesting method for choosing guardians I guess...

9/16/2013 08:11:50 am

I can neither confirm nor deny your highly accurate speculation.

You do have one important thing wrong in your statements, though.

patrick

9/11/2013 01:22:03 am

the origin stories of the various powers of valinhall. we know how the process happens like the mask but surely the ones like ghost armour have decent stories attached to them

9/14/2013 01:14:47 am

City of Light.

Reed

9/11/2013 02:48:52 am

Speaking of origins, how did the incarnations come to be? How did the first trapping occur? And to echo another's comment, how/why was Valinhall "created." Just a brief look into your mythology...

Jessica

9/11/2013 11:00:38 am

I'd like to know more back story on Kai...where he's from, how he was chosen as the next leader, why he didn't accept the sword, why he hides behind his hair, why everyone considers him a coward...

9/14/2013 01:17:26 am

The more I read these questions, the more I'm convinced that a Kai novella needs to happen.

Later. After City of Light. It would take me a month or two per novella, so maybe next summer. Of course, I also need to start a new series next year...

We'll see. But I think this needs to happen.

Scweeb

9/15/2013 10:19:00 pm

Honestly i want a prequel series. Pretty much vallin's story, then kai's, last the miss adventures of the dragon army.

kalyan

9/11/2013 01:04:42 pm

I am reading both of your books again to come up with questions. Its been a while that I was excited about books. Just one request regarding answering the reader's questions. Please please don't change your writing style for the next book. These two books are exciting because there is less explanation and more action. Lot of trilogies or quarters have become boring because of the explanation thing. Just keep the action going.

9/14/2013 01:20:33 am

Good, Kalyan, gooooood. The more you read the books, the more the subliminal messaging I have embedded into the pages will turn you into my unwitting thrall!

And believe me, I won't significantly change the direction of this series in the way you're afraid of. A lot of the people here want more details, and I totally understand that. I would, too. To the extent that I can include this information without slowing the pace down significantly, I will do so.

But these are action books, they're not a sprawling exploration of the world. And they will remain so.

Maybe in the future, I'll write a series dedicated to the exploration of a world, like Wheel of Time or the Malazan Book of the Fallen or the various other examples of that sub-genre. But this is not that series.

josh

10/7/2013 10:40:45 am

Please have a Wheel of Time like series! That would make my day/week/month/year/Age! Free cookie if you find the reference.

NYC Zach

10/10/2013 01:13:31 pm

Good for you, don't compromise delivering a great product at an even greater pace to deliver the greatest product at a crippling pace

Jake

9/27/2013 02:18:58 am

I agree, love the pace of your writing. You never bog down at all. You give enough description and background to make the story very satisfying, but it moves at such a wonderful pace, it's so hard to put down. Dying for book 3, keep up the incredible work!

Gary

9/12/2013 02:44:05 am

Will, another damn fine book. I loved it. Drooling for more. If you ever get back to O-town I would definitely buy you a drink for a job well done. I can't wait for the next one. Lol and how about a 2 volume prequel?

Thanks for the great read!

9/14/2013 01:23:02 am

Thanks, Gary! In fact, I'm in Orlando all the time. I'm in Orlando right now.

One of the cool things about writing, though, is that I'm not place-bound: I can work from wherever I am. Which means I can be wherever I want, whenever I want.

You heard me correctly. All professional novelists have utter control over space and time.

And yeah, the 2-volume prequel novellas probably need to happen. I'm just not sure when...

Brian C

9/12/2013 12:17:30 pm

Kai was named the successor while Indirial was the first and more likely successor. My question is while does it seem it that Denner is the strongest? How is he not the leader? And what is the story behind the fourth fang and dragon army member? Why haven't we seen her?

9/14/2013 01:25:46 am

All four of the surviving Dragon Army members are really good at what they do. Otherwise, Valin would have killed them years ago.

We haven't seen Kathrin because I wanted her in this book, but I couldn't juggle another character, especially another Valinhall character. I want to include her in City of Light.

She actually gained money, political power, and a large, happy family using her Valinhall powers. She always aimed higher than the others, and she tends to brood less.

9/15/2013 10:11:51 am

Thanks, I hope to see her in the next book then! I bet she has an awesome attitude towards the other Vahinhall travelers.

alice

9/12/2013 03:30:20 pm

I'm interested in Rhalia's backstory - why was the wolf man so afraid of her?

It would also be fun to see what Andra's first few weeks in Valinhall was like (and the rest of her family) and how she was chosen to bear a Fang. Her experience seems very different from Simon's

9/14/2013 01:27:04 am

A.) City of Light.

B.) I agree that an Andra short story is likely in order. I enjoy writing her, and I didn't get to explore her experience as much as I wanted to. That might be fun. You're certainly right in that her experience was very different from Simon's.

Pradeep

9/12/2013 04:50:31 pm

Spoilers from The Crimson Vault ahead. Don't read my post if you haven't read the book.

Who is Katherine and where is she ? How could she not be part of the goings on?

Back story of Enosh. Why do all the grandmasters who are mostly sane decide to get together and start a fight against the establishment ? How do they get to be grandmasters? Who leads Enosh or did the grandmasters start it up like a hippie commune type thing?

Actually this is post is more of a complaint than questions. You've brought out all these new interesting stories in The Crimson Vault but made it too short.

To really cover all your bases you need to make the next book pretty comprehensive or make it a series instead of a trilogy.

9/14/2013 01:29:13 am

Don't worry, I've read it.

In-universe, she's not there because she's in a different country, and she's spent years trying to leave the other Valinhall Travelers behind her. A plea for help from them is actually an additional reason to stay away, not a reason to come and help.

The history of Enosh is another short story I'd like to do. Good question!

It's ending as a trilogy, though I reserve the right to write another trilogy later.

Trevor

9/17/2013 07:59:53 am

Assuming CoL doesn't slam the opportunity shut for an additional trilogy.. I think everyone would love to see a second installment with new students and Simon at the head. New rooms and powers opened up by Simon fulfilling his pact with the Eldest to bring him new relics, etc. You really crafted up a clever device to milk multiple books.

Cameron

9/13/2013 01:51:25 pm

I would like to see some back story on Chaka. Also maybe Kai when he was going around finding all the dolls that were scattered around the house.

9/14/2013 01:16:00 am

Kai novella.

10/10/2013 01:23:13 pm

Yeah with a good benson story, after all his steal makes the travelers what they are, I assume the steal makes the chains grow, although I know Kai has no nye essence but I don't recall references to chains on him, in fav I only recall references to chains on simon, indirial and valin,
Yeah definitely a valinhall novella

5/6/2023 04:49:25 pm

It’s been nearly 10 years, wow. It’s crazy to think how a book/author that was recommended on my kindle fire back then, is still my favorite author. Keep up the good work man and thanks to replying to me all those years ago.

9/13/2013 05:22:04 pm

And Will pulled a no show! Maybe he needs to do this on like a Tuesday night so he has fewer distractions.

Devin

9/13/2013 10:34:19 pm

Yeah, sorry guys. Will was busy with family and didn't have access to a computer. He should hopefully be back by the end of the weekend. I'll prepare the tar if you guys get the feathers.

9/14/2013 12:00:46 am

While Devin is correct in that I didn't have access to a computer last night, I also realized earlier in the week that Saturday is a better day for me on a week-to-week basis that Friday. As you said, there are lots of distractions on Friday, and it's better to avoid them.

So I changed the post earlier this week to say "Saturday," not Friday. I thought I caught this early enough, but obviously not. In the future I'll make a comment notifying you of the change.

This had nothing to do with this week, though. I just looked at my calendar and realized that, in the future, Saturdays will probably be better. We'll see.

The scene will be up in a couple of hours, when I have my computer and not this iPhone at which I'm currently pecking away.

9/14/2013 12:02:39 am

*than Friday, not "that"

See? Even I don't have an Edit button for comments.

Hyruler

9/13/2013 05:29:36 pm

Is there a hidden item in the healing room?

9/14/2013 01:15:35 am

No comment, but that question would be answered in a Kai or Valin novella.

9/14/2013 02:22:16 am

Alex

9/26/2013 05:59:56 am

Would you consider making a Valin trilogy?

nate

9/15/2013 03:50:19 am

Just read your two books over the last three days. Cant wait for the last!

9/16/2013 08:10:37 am

Thanks, Nate! I'm thinking about changing the name of Book 3 from "City of Light" to "Simon Dies At the End, Leah Goes Blind, and Alin Rules the World Forever."

What do you think?

Patrick

9/16/2013 01:12:41 pm

One of the more underrated comedic exchanges in Crimson Vault is when Indirial claims to know "a specialist" who can take care of a rampaging Dragon, then pats Denner on the back and sends him off (to a simple set of slumped shoulders on Denner's part).

My question is: How did Denner became so skilled at taking down all things winged? I'd also love more background on him in general, since he seems to have some unique quirks which make him an absolute terror in battle despite the fact that he has to fight while lugging around a know-it-all book (who, in my opinion, would be a great add to Denner's back story as well)

9/16/2013 01:21:26 pm

Also - there are a lot of great story ideas re: the origins of the Dragon army on this overall thread... you might have enough here for an entire book of short stories on the topic... just putting it out there

9/17/2013 12:10:46 am

1) The world has no name, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who would absolutely love to see what your vision of it is. Is the story taking place across the entire world? or just the known world? Are there other exciting places across the sea? Do they have travelers as well?

hrm... if only there was some way to take the vision in your head, and put it down on paper... to create some sort of visual aid for other people to see... hrm... I'm not even sure what we'd call something like that!

2) Why are most of the Dragon Fangs lost? If Valin killed all but 4 in Valinhall by the time Kai found him, shouldn't they uh... be in Valinhall where the eldest knows of it? Also, if they had been taken out of Valinhall, and summoned weapons always have a way of finding their way back... why haven't the fangs?

Gen

10/8/2013 07:33:06 pm

My fiance and I loved "House of Blades" so much that when "Crimson Vault" came out we fought over who got to read it first... ended up buying two copies instead of some sort of winner takes all death match.
Great books!! Keep the awesomeness coming!!!

10/26/2013 09:26:03 am

Yes, fight! Fight, my gladiators! Only your skill will determine the winner!

Liam

10/22/2013 03:36:56 am

I was wondering about the fact that the Wanderer should have gone very deep into the territory and when he became an incarnation he should have had access to incredible powers, yet he doesn't use them...
I felt that was a little bizarre

10/26/2013 09:26:46 am

I THINK I just answered this on a more recent blog post. Seriously, I'm not sure--it's all something of a blur--but I think I did.

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.